Sure, argue all you want about women having their own leagues. Make that argument “what if a man tried out for an NWSL team?” My answer is simple. Those arguments would be fair if women pro players had anywhere close to the same money and prestige as the men. They don’t. Not close.

“Today was about the past, the present and the future,” said Foothills coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “And the crowd dictated that they’re here to watch local talent. They’re here to invest in Canadian rivalries. It’s hard to strike up a rivalry, as you guys know, with Miami and Puerto Rico. But if you say Calgary’s coming up for an Al Classico, and suddenly everybody wants to see the rivalry. I thought it was a brilliant response from the Edmonton community.”

With FC Edmonton not running a professional program in 2018, Ledgerwood had a conundrum. He needed to find work, he had a possibility of returning to Europe to play, but with a wife and young son, his family circumstances had changed since he last played across the Atlantic.

The truth is, 2018 will be a low point for men’s soccer in Canada. Boy, is it going to suck. It will be ultimate in lame-duck years. Canadian jobs will dwindle. We’ll have fewer teams to support. And even in TFC beats Seattle 10-0 on Saturday, that’s not going to change a thing.

And the San Francisco Canadians, er, Deltas, did it with the kind of gutsy performance that might make a certain hockey commentator known for flashy suits and big collars wonder if the team should just be up and moved to Kingston and entered in the Canadian Premier League.

While the Ottawa Fury are committed to return to USL in 2018, USL President Jake Edwards said that the team’s membership in the North American Division-2 circuit is on a year-to-year basis. And Edwards said he and the league are supportive of the move to launch a Canadian Premier League.

A Canadian Soccer Novel

About The 11

The 11 offers insight, interviews and commentary by respected soccer journalists. It is affiliated with the Canadian soccer magazine, Plastic Pitch. Our editor, Steven Sandor, has covered Major League Soccer, United Soccer Leagues, World Cup qualifying, CONCACAF Champions League, women’s soccer and the Canadian Soccer League and has won numerous awards for his magazine work. His work has appeared in the Sun chain of newspapers, Soccer 360, World Soccer, Soccer Canada, Philadelphia Daily News and the Deseret News. His work has appeared in publications in Canada, the United States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Namibia.